Around 1,600 young men and women will begin Denmark’s newly extended 11-month military service on 3 August. Many will be housed in temporary modular barracks made from stacked personnel containers because permanent accommodation is still being built or renovated.

The containers include four-person bedrooms, bathrooms, changing facilities and common rooms with Wi-Fi. The arrangement follows repeated criticism of conditions in Danish barracks, including mould, defective plumbing and inadequate toilet and shower facilities. At Aalborg Barracks, conscripts previously slept in 12-person rooms described by military personnel as “worn out” and “outdated.”

New accommodation is being constructed at 11 military sites between 2026 and 2028. The Armed Forces calls the temporary housing a “clear upgrade” and hopes that improved conditions will persuade more conscripts to remain in the military after completing their compulsory service.

“The alternative would have been for the conscripts to live in the old buildings. That would probably have been the worst solution.”

— Colonel Kenneth Strøm, head of Denmark’s Conscription Programme

Read the entire piece in TV2 ØST.